1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to hinges for removably securing a hood, to a powered vehicle such as a lawn mowing vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many conventional powered mowing vehicles provide hoods that are connected by hinges to the vehicle. The hoods can be opened by releasing a latch at the front of the hood and then lifting and pivoting the hood about the hinge at the rear of the hood to allow access to the internal workings of the vehicle.
As a conventional hood is opened, its center of gravity passes over and beyond the hinge. Therefore, when the hood is in a fully opened position the hood's weight will tend to maintain the hood in the open position, and the hood will not slam shut. It is known to provide a mechanism for limiting the range of pivoting of the hood when in a fully opened position. Cables have been provided for limiting the range of pivoting of the hood when fully open. The hoods are thereby prevented from being damaged by contact with the vehicle frame or the ground. However, these limiting mechanisms can add significant costs to the manufacture of the hood, since additional hardware such as cables must be installed.
Many conventional mowers allow the operator to entirely remove the hood from the vehicle to provide greater exposure of the engine and the other mechanisms otherwise covered by the hood. However, the operator may have to remove hardware from conventional hinge mechanisms in order to remove the hood. This may be time consuming and may require the use of tools. The hardware removed may be lost or misplaced, and the requirement of tools may be inconvenient and prevent repairs at job sites remote from locations where tools are kept.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a hinge mechanism for securing a hood to a vehicle that allows the hood to be pivoted to an open position wherein the weight of the hood tends to maintain the hood in the open position, and that limits the range of pivoting in the open position in a manner inexpensive to manufacture. Further, it would be desirable for such a hinge to allow complete removal of the hood without the need for removal of hardware or the use of tools.